Emergency Action to Protect Dalgarup Forest

20 May 2020

Forest defenders are stopping the logging of an exquisite, ancient jarrah forest west of Bridgetown this morning after it was carved out of a proposed National Park to make it available for logging.

Please act right now by signing and sharing this online action and contacting the Ministers for Forestry and Environment – contact details in the comments.

“Dalgarup is very well known and loved to Bridgetown locals who fought hard for it be protected through the 1990s,” said WAFA convener Jess Beckerling.

“It was protected in a proposed National Park by the Gallop Government back in 2004, but this section being defended today was then secretly carved off under the Barnett Government.

“You can immediately see why it was originally within the boundaries of the National Park. It is absolutely spectacular jarrah country.

“Our emergency old-growth nomination has been rejected by DBCA, which has apparently already carried out an assessment and found the areas where the logging is currently happening not to meet the definition.

“Either there was an error in the assessment process, or this just goes to show what a joke the current definition of old-growth is in WA.

“There are ancient trees, a open and very diverse understorey, and fauna diggings everywhere. DBCA has records of critically endangered Western Ringtail Possums in there, as well as Quokkas, Chuditch, Brush-tailed Phascogales, Red-tailed- Carnaby’s and Baudin’s Cockatoos and Western-Brush Wallabies.

“Dalgarup forest is teeming with life – and the fauna in there, such as the critically endangered Western Ringtail Possum, are teetering on the edge of extinction. It should be criminal to be logging habitat for endangered wildlife.

“We are so grateful to the brave people currently stopping logging in Dalgarup. This is an emergency situation for this forest and its wildlife. We need this problem properly addressed and fixed by the McGowan Government.

“The South West’s native forests must be protected: for climate, communities, wildlife and water. They are worth so much more standing.” said Ms Beckerling.

Contact: Jess Beckerling | WAFA convener | 0488 777 592

Protect the tingles from prescribed burning, for good

Tingles are a large, ancient tree species that are only found in a small area in WA’s Southwest, close to Walpole. They can live for more than 400 years, reach heights over 55 metres and have the largest base of any eucalypt, and provide critical habitat to many threatened plants and animals. They are vulnerable to frequent fire.

In December 2024, Giants East, a tingle forest block in the famed Valley of the Giants, was torched as part of the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA)’s prescribed burning program.

More than 100 giant trees collapsed in the intense burn, with flames reaching the tops of many trees in one of the worst outcomes seen by WA’s prescribed burning program.

After persistent community action, three tingle-karri blocks, Nornalup, Coalmine and Mount Clare received a reprieve at the end of 2025 and were removed from the burn plan until July 2026.

But these blocks, and other tingle forests, aren’t safe forever. They could be on the burn plan for 2026-27. There must be a commitment from the WA Government to permanently protect tingles from prescribed burning and revise how fire is managed in these areas.

Over time, tingle forests self-thin and become naturally less flammable. Left unburnt, they are less of a fire risk than forests burnt in the last 30 years.

In a drying climate that is increasingly prone to bushfires, it’s important to be bushfire ready, but prescribed burning shouldn’t be the only tool in our bushfire prevention kit. It is vital that the Southwest’s prescribed burning practices reflect current science and a changed climate, and funding is directed towards rapid detection and suppression of bushfires.

Smoking collapsed Tingle after the giants east burn

It is of the highest priority that the tingles are protected from fire not just in this burn plan, but for good.

Please contact the Premier and relevant Ministers using our template to urge them to permanently protect tingle forests from prescribed burning. Enter your details to start writing your email.

Read more about the Giants East burn or about rapid suppression technology.